For another ten cents, I got a pack of those little erasers that go on pencils because the erasers that come on the pencils turn into rocks as soon as I make one mistake on the daily crossword puzzle.

To thank the store for having such great specials, I also bought two reams of computer paper and a new printer cartridge. I’m sure the cost of the cartridge negated any savings I’d made on the notebooks and erasers, but I went home happy, eager to write in a brand new spiral notebook.

I do 99% of my writing on a computer. Correspondence is via e-mail. So why do I covet spiral notebooks? Perhaps it’s nostalgia for the days when I took my kids shopping for school supplies. More likely, it’s because I love the feel, smell and look of real paper. It’s the same reason I prefer bound books over e-books. A blank notebook is an invitation to leisurely record my thoughts and ideas. Much of my notebook writing is done in bed at night, then transcribed to the computer in the morning.

More happy news: My good friend, Roland Smith, has won the Young Hoosier Book Award in the middle grade category for The Cryptid Hunters. The Young Hoosier was the first state award I ever won (1993, for Nightmare Mountain) and I’ve had a special fondness for the librarians, teachers and students of Indiana ever since. Congratulations to Roland!

Even more happy news: Tomorrow I celebrate the publication of Ghost Dog Secrets in two ways. First, I’m having a drawing on my Facebook author page, to give away two signed copies. Second, I’m having brunch at Mad Dog’s Cafe with Kevin and Eric (son-in-law and grandson) before they come to help me with some muscle-man chores.

I hope each of you has happy news today!

Despite the abundance of new weakness, swallowing difficulties, fatigue, and other PPS symptoms, these folks were upbeat. Polio had not defeated them the first time around, and it isn’t going to beat them now, either.

It’s more complicated, and much slower, now. I wrote a memoir, Animals Welcome, about the many critters I’ve interacted with in my eleven years here on my small wildlife sanctuary. I loved writing this book and finished the manuscript in a burst of enthusiasm. I hoped for one particular editor who loves animals as much as I do and who has worked on many of my previous books. My agent sent it to her on May 4th, and I am still waiting. It took weeks before the editor had time to read the manuscript. Then she had to discuss it with the publisher, who needed to consult the marketing staff. A history of my other nonfiction sales had to be compiled. Finally, an offer was made, but many of the terms that had been standard in previous contracts with this publisher were now different, so a back-and-forth negotiation with my agent ensued. I know in the end the contract will be signed, the animal-loving editor and I will work well together, and the book will, eventually, get published. But it’s hard to be patient.

Of course, I am half-way through writing something else by now. Writers write; they don’t sit around waiting to hear the fate of their latest effort.

In case you’re curious, that earlier four-book contract was for The Secret Journey, My Brother Made Me Do It, The Hideout, and Saving Lilly.

Mr. Stray comes to eat, and so does Woody, the feral cat who lived temporarily in my foster cat room. Dillon, a cat who lives next door, shows up for snacks, and cat food is greedily gobbled by a pair of blue jays.  Not just the dry cat food, either. Those blue jays eat tuna! There are so many comings and goings at that cat food station that the memory card in the camera fills up in less than twenty-four hours. I enjoy watching the animals, and I plan to mount the camera in other places around my property to see if I can film some of the wildlife.

I’m doing lots of reading this summer. Much of it is research for a nonfiction book that I’m working on, but some is fiction. Currently I’m reading the 44 Scotland Street series by Alexander McCall Smith. Reading those novels is much like watching the films captured by my trail camera. I get small, intimate glimpses into the lives of his characters.

A distant cousin let me know she buys my books in Paris, where she lives.

A chapter from Five Pages a Day: A Writer’s Journey is being included in Houghton Mifflin’s new reading textbook for Grade 5, in both the Spanish edition and the English edition that’s used in the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth. It’s the chapter about my Dog Newspaper.

The only countries besides my own that I’ve visited are Canada and Mexico, so it is exciting to think that my books are being read on other continents.

 Mrs. Kehret,
I am writing you to let you know what a huge fan I am of
your work.  As well as let you know what an impact your
writing has on your readers.  Let me start from the
beginning.

I attended Madison Elementary in Muscatine, Iowa.  When I was in elementary school you were the visiting author once, possibly twice!  My mother is the library aide to Beth Elshoff so I got my picture taken with you and my books signed!  (I still have Sisters Long Ago which you signed for me.) 

After leaving elementary school and reading a majority
of your books I went on with my education. Five years ago I became a classroom teacher, and 3 years ago I took over teaching a 4th grade class back at Madison
Elementary.  The first read aloud I have read to my class the last 2 years is Small Steps.  Once I read this book to them they are hooked!  I let them pick which book they wantme to read next and they are ALWAYS your books.  Last year not only did I read Small Steps, but also Cages, Escaping the Giant Wave, Nightmare Mountain, Saving Lily, and Stolen Children.  They loved each and every one of these books and would beg me to continue reading all the time. 

Your books are wonderful and I wanted to let you know they are still enjoyed by the young and old.  I begged Beth to let me read her copy of Runaway Twin before the kids could get to it.  (I read it over night so they got it the next day.)
Thank you for many wonderful hours of reading.

Sincerely,
Jillian Poppe
4th Grade Teacher

This has happened many times with my plays; I find out about the show after the production is over, when it’s too late for me to go. Even though this play has been produced every year, some years many times, I have never seen a production of it! I have never seen two of my other plays, either.

My mail on Friday included a new copy of Donkey, Donkey, which has been reprinted by Knopf. In Small Steps: The Year I Got Polio, I told how my mother gave away the books I had outgrown and how sad I had been not to have Donkey, Donkey any more. This book was sent by Denise in Brooklyn, NY, with a note thanking me for many happy hours of reading. I have never met Denise, yet she warmed my heart with her thoughtful words and gift.

Today I went to the Bellevue Arts and Crafts Fair with Anne. One exhibit featured whimsical pottery yard art, and I was enchanted by the colorful decorated coffee cups. (I’m devoted to coffee.) I began talking about where I might put one and said I could fill it with water for the small birds to drink. At that point, Anne bought it for “Moonie Appreciation Day.” (My kids and grandkids call me Moonie.) It shows as I walk up my front path, and I can see it from the kitchen window - a reminder of a happy day with my daughter and of a spontaneous gift, given for no particular reason.